Battery holder and isolation assembly

ABSTRACT

A battery holder for securing a battery to a vehicle and for mechanically isolating the battery from the vehicle is provided. The battery holder includes a vehicle mounting plate, a battery containment plate, and a number of shock absorbing elements. The battery containment plate includes a number of open-topped cells for retaining leaking battery liquid therein. The shock absorbing elements prevent vibrations and shocks from being transferred from the vehicle to the battery.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/475,148,filed Sep. 2, 2014, titled BATTERY HOLDER AND ISOLATION ASSEMBLY, whichclaims priority to earlier-filed U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/872,162, filed Aug. 30, 2013, titled BATTERY HOLDER ANDISOLATION ASSEMBLY both of which are incorporated by reference in theirentirety into the present document.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles such as cars and boats typically include one or more batteriesfor storing and providing electrical power. These batteries often failor have reduced performance due to excessive vibrations and shocksgenerated or transmitted by the vehicles. This is especially true forbatteries used in boats, personal watercraft, all-terrain vehicles, andother vehicles that operate in rough water or uneven terrain. All typesof batteries, and particularly high performance batteries used in marineapplications, are expensive, difficult to replace, and difficult tosafely dispose. Thus, prolonging their useful lives is highly desired.

Conventional battery holders such as battery cases secure theirbatteries to the vehicles but do not absorb vibrations and shockstransmitted or generated by the vehicles. Shock absorbing pads have beendeveloped for placement under the batteries, but the batteries are nolonger secured to the vehicles. Strapping the batteries to the vehiclesor otherwise securing the batteries to the vehicles while they are onthe shock absorbing pads results in the shock absorbing pads beingineffective because vibrations and shocks travel through the securingstraps to the batteries.

SUMMARY

The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides adistinct advance in the art of battery holders. More particularly, thepresent invention provides a battery holder and isolation assembly thatboth secures a battery to a vehicle and mechanically isolates thebattery from the vehicle.

A battery holder and isolation assembly constructed in accordance withan embodiment of the invention broadly includes a vehicle mountingplate, a battery containment plate, a number of spacers, a batterysecurement component, and a number of shock absorbing elements.

An embodiment of the vehicle mounting plate is formed of corrosionresistant metal or plastic and includes a number of fastener holes forsecuring the vehicle mounting plate to a surface of the vehicle and forsecuring the shock absorbing elements to the vehicle mounting plate.

An embodiment of the battery containment plate is formed of corrosionresistant metal or plastic and includes an upper surface, a verticallyextending lip, a number of fastener holes, a number of shock absorberwells, and a battery securement component guide. The upper surfaceincludes a number of open-topped cells for retaining any spilled batteryliquid. The vertically extending lip extends upward around the uppersurface and retains a bottom portion of the battery. The fastener holesreceive fasteners of the shock absorbing elements therethrough forsecuring the battery containment plate to the shock absorbing elements.The shock absorber wells receive the shock absorbing portions of theshock absorbing elements therein.

The spacers restrain the battery from moving horizontally and include anumber of protrusions. The protrusions can be inserted into selectedopen-topped cells of the battery containment plate depending on thebattery size. The spacers can be omitted for large batteries.

The battery securement component retains the battery on the batterycontainment plate and may be any suitable adjustable or elasticsecurement component.

The shock absorbing elements may be Sorbothane® Stud Mounts, rubber, orother suitable shock-absorbing components. The shock absorbing elementseach include a shock absorption portion, a lower fastener, and an upperfastener. The shock absorption portion is formed of Sorbothane®material, rubber, or other suitable material. The lower and upperfasteners are embedded in the shock absorption portion with the shockabsorption portion extending between the fasteners. The lower fastenersecures the shock absorbing element to the vehicle or vehicle mountingplate and the upper fastener secures the shock absorbing element to thebattery containment plate.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspectsand advantages of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanyingdrawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery holder constructed inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention and shown holdinga battery;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the battery holder of FIG. 1without the battery;

FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of the battery holder of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is bottom exploded assembly view of the battery holder of FIG. 1.

The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specificembodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description of the invention references theaccompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which theinvention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describeaspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled inthe art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized andchanges can be made without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is definedonly by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents towhich such claims are entitled.

In this description, references to one embodiment“, an embodiment”, or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to one embodiment“, an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in thisdescription do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are alsonot mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For example,a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also beincluded in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus,the present technology can include a variety of combinations and/orintegrations of the embodiments described herein.

Turning now to the drawing figures, a battery holder 10 constructed inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.The battery holder 10 broadly comprises a vehicle mounting plate 12, abattery containment plate 14, a number of spacers 16, a batterysecurement component 18, and a number of shock absorbing elements 20.

The vehicle mounting plate 12 supports the weight of a battery 22 andthe other components of the battery holder 10 on a surface or mountingcomponent of the vehicle and may be formed of corrosion resistant billetaluminum, molded plastic, or any other suitable material. The vehiclemounting plate 12 may be rectangular or oval in shape and includes atapered front ledge 24, a tapered rear ledge 26, and a plurality offastener holes 28 extending through the ledges 24, 26 for receivingvehicle mounting fasteners 30 therethrough, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.Alternatively, the vehicle mounting plate 12 may be secured to thevehicle via straps, clamps, or other fasteners. The vehicle mountingplate 12 also includes additional fastener holes 32 for receiving shockabsorber fasteners therethrough and shock absorber wells 34 forreceiving shock absorbing components therein. In one embodiment, thevehicle mounting plate 12 includes six shock absorber wells 34. It willbe understood that an alternative configuration of the invention may notuse a vehicle mounting plate with the shock absorbing fasteners beingsecured directly to the vehicle.

The battery containment plate 14 supports the weight of the battery 22on the shock absorbing elements 20 and may be formed of corrosionresistant billet aluminum, molded plastic, or any other suitablematerial. The battery containment plate 14 includes an upper surface 36,a vertically extending lip 38, a plurality of shock absorber fastenerholes 40, a plurality of shock absorber wells 42, and a batterysecurement component guide 44, as shown in FIGS. 2-4. The upper surface36 receives a bottom portion of the battery 22 thereon and includes aplurality of open-topped cells 46. The open-topped cells 46 retain anyleaking battery liquid and may be circular, oval, square, rectangular,hexagonal, irregular shaped, or any other suitable shape. Theopen-topped cells 46 may be arranged in an orthogonal, radial, orhoneycomb array, or any other pattern. Battery liquid that spills overthe top edge of one open-topped cell will be retained in the nextopen-topped cell. The lip 38 retains the bottom portion of the battery22 on the upper surface 36 and retains any leaking battery liquid notretained by the open-topped cells 46. The lip 38 extends approximately⅛^(th) of an inch to 1 inch upward around the upper surface 36. Theshock absorber fastener holes 40 receive shock absorber fastenerstherethrough and are spaced from each other in line with the shockabsorbing elements 20. The shock absorber fastener holes 40 may becountersunk or counterbore for preventing battery liquid from leakingtherethrough when shock absorber fasteners are secured therein. Theshock absorber wells 42 receive shock absorbing portions of the shockabsorbing elements 20 therein and are large open-topped counterboresextending above the shock absorber fastener holes 40. In one embodiment,the battery containment plate 14 includes six shock absorber wells 42.The battery securement component guide 44 is an elongated recessedregion extending from one side to the other side of the bottom of thebattery containment plate 14. The battery securement component guide 44receives a portion of the battery securement component 18 and keeps analignment of the battery securement component 18 around the battery 22and the battery containment plate 14. In one embodiment, the batterysecurement component guide 44 includes one or more grooves positioned inthe middle of the bottom of the battery containment plate 14.

The spacers 16 prevent the battery 22 from moving or slidinghorizontally on the battery containment plate 14 and include one or moreprotrusions 48. The spacers may be formed of corrosion resistant billetaluminum, molded plastic, or any other suitable material. Theprotrusions 48 extend downward and have the same shape or a similarshape as the open-topped cells 46 for inserting the protrusions 48 intoone or more selected open-topped cells 46. For example, hexagonalopen-topped cells 46 will receive hexagonal or partial hexagonal-shapedprotrusions 48. This allows the spacers 16 to be positioned on the uppersurface 36 of the battery containment plate 14 at different positionsfor accommodating larger and smaller batteries. The protrusions 48 eachmay include a convex nub 50 for friction fitting the protrusions 48 intothe open-topped cells 46.

The battery securement component 18 retains the battery 22 on thebattery containment plate 14 and may be an adjustable strap, elasticcable, chain, rope, belt, band or any other suitable component. Thebattery securement component 18 is extended along the battery securementcomponent guide 44 and over the battery 22 and tightened or clamped downso that the battery 22 is retained on the battery containment plate 14,as described below.

The shock absorbing elements 20 isolate the battery 22 from vibrationsand shocks generated or transmitted by the vehicle and may bedisc-shaped or any other suitable shape. The shock absorbing elements 20may be Sorbothane® Stud Mounts, rubber, or other suitable component. Theshock absorbing elements 20 are positioned between the vehicle mountingplate 12 and the battery containment plate 14 in the shock absorberwells 34 of the vehicle mounting plate 12 and the shock absorber wells42 of the battery containment plate 14 and in line with the fastenerholes 28 of the vehicle mounting plate 12 and the fastener holes 40 ofthe battery containment plate 14. In one embodiment, the battery holder10 includes six shock absorbing elements 20 with four elementspositioned in a rectangular array and two elements spaced on oppositesides of the rectangular array. The shock absorbing elements 20 includea shock absorption portion 52, a lower shock absorber fastener 54, andan upper shock absorber fastener 56. The shock absorption portion 52absorbs the vibrations and shocks generated or transmitted by thevehicle and may be formed of Sorbothane® material, rubber, or othersuitable material. The lower fastener 54 may be a male or female-typethreaded fastener or any other suitable fastener embedded into thebottom of the shock absorption portion 52. The upper fastener 56 may bea female or male-type threaded fastener embedded into the top of theshock absorption portion 52 and extending upwards. The lower fastener 54and the upper fastener 56 are separated from each other by the shockabsorption portion 52 so that vibrations and shocks are not transmittedthrough the fasteners 54, 56.

The above-described battery holder 10 may be assembled as follows:first, the vehicle mounting plate 12 is positioned on a battery mountingsurface or bracket of the vehicle and fastened to the surface or bracketvia the vehicle mounting fasteners 30. The shock absorbing elements 20are then fastened to the vehicle mounting plate 12 via the lower shockabsorber fasteners 54. The battery containment plate 14 is then fastenedto the shock absorbing elements 20 via the upper shock absorberfasteners 56. The battery 22 is then placed on the upper surface 36 ofthe battery containment plate 14. The spacers 16 are positioned on theupper surface 36 of the battery containment plate 14 with theprotrusions 48 extending into selected open-topped cells 46 with thespacers 16 positioned as close to the battery 22 as possible. Thespacers 16 can be omitted for large batteries. The battery securementcomponent 18 is then placed between the vehicle mounting plate 12 andthe battery containment plate 14, aligned in the battery securementcomponent guide 44, wrapped over the battery 12, and tightened orcinched so as to secure the battery 22 to the battery containment plate14.

In one embodiment of the invention, the vehicle mounting plate 12, thebattery containment plate 14, and the shock absorbing elements 20 arepre-assembled into a shock base. The shock base is mounted to thevehicle surface. The battery 22 is then placed on the batterycontainment plate 14 and secured thereto via the battery securementcomponent 18.

In another embodiment of the invention, the shock absorbing elements 20may be secured directly to the vehicle without the use of a vehiclemounting plate 12.

When the battery holder 10 is assembled, the battery containment plate14 and the battery securement component 18 secure the battery 22 betweenthem, and the shock absorbing elements 20 mechanically isolate thebattery 22 from the vehicle. Because the lower and upper shock absorberfasteners 54, 56 are not connected to each other, the only physicalconnection between the battery containment plates 14, 16 and the vehiclemounting plate 12 is the shock absorption portion 52. This preventsvibrations and shocks from passing through the fasteners 54, 56 to thebattery 22. Specifically, when the shock absorbing elements 20 aresubjected to a compressive force, they compress inwardly from the top tobottom and bulge outwardly along their radial sidewalls to absorb anddampen the force. Similarly, when the shock absorbing elements 20 aresubjected to a tensional force, they stretch outwardly from top tobottom and compress inwardly along their radial sidewalls to absorb ordampen the force.

The above-described battery holder 10 provides several advantages overconventional battery holders. For example, the battery holder 10 bothsecures the battery 22 to the vehicle and protects the battery 22 fromvibrations and shocks. The open-topped cells 46 retain spilled batteryliquid therein. The battery securement component 18 can secure batteriesof different heights and the spacers 16 allow different widths orlengths of batteries to be secured to the battery holder 10. The taperedledges 24, 26 provide an ergonomic contour that prevents other objectsfrom catching on the battery holder 10.

Although the invention has been described with reference to theembodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is notedthat equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.

Having thus described various embodiments of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:
 1. A battery holder for securing and mechanicallyisolating a battery from a vehicle, the battery holder comprising: avehicle mounting plate for securing the battery holder to the vehicle; abattery containment plate for supporting the battery thereon; a batterysecurement component for retaining the battery on the batterycontainment plate; and a plurality of shock absorbing elementspositioned between the vehicle mounting plate and the batterycontainment plate, wherein each shock absorbing component includes alower connecting portion for connecting the shock absorbing component tothe vehicle mounting plate, an upper connecting portion for connectingthe shock absorbing component to the battery containment plate, and ashock absorption portion extending between the lower connecting portionand the upper connecting portion for absorbing vibrations and shocksreceived from the vehicle, wherein the lower connecting portion and theupper connecting portion do not touch so as to at least partiallymechanically isolate the battery containment plate and the battery fromthe vehicle mounting plate and the vehicle.
 2. The battery holder ofclaim 1, wherein the lower connecting portion is a lower fastener andthe upper connecting portion is an upper fastener.
 3. The battery holderof claim 1, wherein the battery containment plate has an upper surfacewith a plurality of open-topped cells for retaining any spilled batteryliquid.
 4. The battery holder of claim 3, further comprising a number ofspacers for restricting horizontal movement of the battery, the spacershaving one or more protrusions configured to be inserted into one ormore selected open-topped cells depending on the size of the battery. 5.The battery holder of claim 4, wherein the protrusions each include anub for friction fitting the protrusions into the selected open-toppedcells.
 6. The battery holder of claim 3, wherein the open-topped cellsare hexagonal and arranged in a honeycomb array.
 7. The battery holderof claim 2, wherein the shock absorption portion of each shock absorbingcomponent is embedded around its respective lower fastener and upperfastener and is formed of Sorbothane® material, rubber, or othersuitable shock absorbing material.
 8. The battery holder of claim 2,wherein the lower fastener is a female-type fastener embedded in abottom portion of the shock absorbing component and the upper fasteneris a male-type fastener embedded in a top portion of the shock absorbingcomponent and extending from the top of the shock absorbing component.9. The battery holder of claim 1, wherein the battery holder comprisessix shock absorbing components.
 10. The battery holder of claim 9,wherein four of the six shock absorbing components are arranged in arectangular array and two of the six shock absorbing components arespaced from the rectangular array on opposite sides of the rectangulararray.
 11. The battery holder of claim 1, wherein the vehicle mountingplate and the battery containment plate each include a plurality ofshock absorber wells for receiving at least portions of the shockabsorbing components therein.
 12. The battery holder of claim 1, whereinthe vehicle mounting plate further includes a tapered front ledge and atapered rear ledge.
 13. The battery holder of claim 1, wherein thebattery containment plate is formed of molded plastic orcorrosion-resistant billet aluminum.
 14. The battery holder of claim 1,wherein the battery containment plate includes a guide for maintainingalignment of the battery securement component on the battery and thebattery containment plate.
 15. The battery holder of claim 15, whereinthe guide is a groove in the battery containment plate.
 16. The batteryholder of claim 1, wherein the battery securement component is anadjustable strap.
 17. The battery holder of claim 1, wherein the vehiclemounting plate, the battery containment plate, and the shock absorbingelements are pre-assembled into a shock base.
 18. A battery holder forsecuring and mechanically isolating a battery from a vehicle, thebattery holder comprising: a vehicle mounting plate for securing thebattery holder to the vehicle, the vehicle mounting plate including aplurality of holes for receiving fasteners therethrough; a batterycontainment plate for supporting the battery thereon, the batterycontainment plate comprising: an upper surface having a plurality ofopen-topped cells for retaining any spilled battery liquid therein; alip for retaining a bottom portion of the battery on the upper surface;and a battery securement component guide; a number of spacers forrestricting horizontal movement of the battery, the spacers eachincluding one or more protrusions configured to be inserted into one ormore selected open-topped cells depending on the battery size; a batterysecurement component for retaining the battery in the battery holder,the battery securement component guide being configured to keep thebattery securement component aligned on the battery and the batterycontainment plate; and a plurality of shock absorbing elementspositioned between the vehicle mounting plate and the lower batterycontainment plate, wherein each shock absorbing component includes alower connecting portion for connecting the shock absorbing component tothe vehicle mounting plate, an upper connecting portion for connectingthe shock absorbing component to the battery containment plate, and ashock absorption portion extending between the lower connecting portionand the upper connecting portion for absorbing vibrations and shocksreceived from the vehicle, wherein the lower connecting portion and theupper connecting portion do not touch so as to at least partiallymechanically isolate the battery from the vehicle.
 19. A battery holderfor securing and mechanically isolating a battery from a vehicle, thebattery holder comprising: a battery containment plate for supportingthe battery thereon; a securement component for retaining the battery inthe battery holder; and a plurality of shock absorbing elements attachedto the battery containment plate, wherein each shock absorbing componentincludes a lower connecting portion for connecting the shock absorbingcomponent to the vehicle, an upper connecting portion for connecting theshock absorbing component to the battery containment plate, and a shockabsorption portion extending between the lower connecting portion andthe upper connecting portion for absorbing vibrations and shocksreceived from the vehicle, wherein the lower connecting portion and theupper connecting portion do not touch as to at least partiallymechanically isolate the battery from the vehicle.